After a short intermission, Art Bergmann took to the stage. A key figure in Canadian punk rock, the 62-year-old Calgary native has likely seen livelier days. That said, he still puts on a strong-sounding show (albeit a far too long show, given the circumstances.) He’s very much all snarled, near-spoken word lyrics while his band backs him up with aggressive, bordering-jazz instrumentals. Bergmann teeters around on stage, but he knows what he’s doing. Though crowd reception was slightly tepid, his stream of consciousness lyricism was transfixing and bewildering, even referencing Beyonce, Jay Z, and Kanye West.

The tribute sets went by quickly, and a little past 11:30 it was time to switch formats. Out came the Canadian punk icon and his backing band, still packing a wallop. At 62, Bergmann still has plenty of fire in him, throwing out sarcastic remarks between songs and even asking the audience to insult him. His set was long, and it noticeably made some audience members restless, but Art Bergmann did not and does not give a shit. His rambling vocal style, a la Lou Reed, helped bring his highly political lyrics to life, and his backing band helped bring the noise. Later in the set he inspired some audience participation on “Company Store,” and he concluded his set after 80 minutes with “Drones of Democracy.”

Wavelength: Art Bergmann

Sneaky Dee’s

$10 advance

ART BERGMANN (Calgary - Canadian punk pioneer & living legend - former member of The Young Canadians, Poisoned & long-time solo artists - playing songs from across his entire career w/ Toronto all-star backing band - Weewerk Recordings)

One of the most influential pop musicians to emerge from Britain is making a rare solo appearance at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on March 4. Midge Ure, leader of the groundbreaking UK band Ultravox — and the man who co-founded Live 8 and Band Aid (and co-wrote "Don't They Know It's Christmas") — has been a successful solo artists since the mid-80s, but has continued his relationship with his former band. After working on live albums, the latest Ultravox record, and the updated version of “Do They Know it’s Christmas” in support of the 2014 Ebola outbreak relief efforts, he has also found time to present his newest studio album Fragile.

QUICK DETAILSWho: Midge Ure, with special guests Blue Peter What: A rare Toronto appearance of the influential British pop star, Live Aid and Band Aid co-founder, one-time member of Thin Lizzy, and front man of Ultravox; Midge Ure's successful solo career has been ongoing since 1985.

Why: Because this is classic new wave music, and too few artists play it any more

We all have a musical bucket list – except I terrorize myself with artists that the probability of seeing are slim to nothing. But, every now and then, I get a treat and this week it came in the form of one of the most prolific songwriters in Canadian history, Art Bergmann. I traveled down to Hamilton to see him play an intimate performance at Hamilton’s hub of underground music – This Ain’t Hollywood. TAH are known throughout the world for bringing in some really rare acts like Roky Erickson, Johnny Winter and members of the New York Dolls just to name a few past performers. I know that owner (and long time punk supporter) Lou Molinario was happy to be able to add Art to that list, and the city of Hamilton was lucky to have such an artist in their city.

From Ben Rayner's Art Bergmann interview:Bergmann plays the Great Hall on Friday night with an all-star band that includes Blue Rodeo’s Glenn Milchem, ex-Blue Peter members Chris Wardman and Jason Sniderman, and bassist John Dinsmore.

Also playing This Ain't Hollywood on Thursday Oct 23 and Wakefield QUE on Saturday Oct 25. C'mon out.

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Chris Wardman first came to the public eye as the guitar player and songwriter for seminal Canadian new wave band Blue Peter. The band’s hit songs included “Chinese Graffiti”, “Radio Silence” and the hugely popular “Don’t Walk Past”. “Don’t Walk Past” continues to garner airplay on radio and MuchMusic, many years later. Getting a taste for recording while working with British producer Steve Nye (Japan, Bryan Ferry, The Cure) on a Blue Peter album, Wardman went on to a successful producing career of his own. After releasing four discs Blue Peter disbanded and Wardman slid easily into the producer’s chair, working on albums for Chalk Circle, Randy Bachman, Emm Gryner, The Watchmen, Art Bergmann, Rusty, Big Wreck and many others. From 1989 to 1992, he was on the payroll at Capitol EMI Records as staff producer working with bands like Leslie Spit Treeo, David Gogo, The Tragically Hip, 13 Engines, National Velvet and more.

Online

Chris Wardman has been involved in interactive media since the early days of websites and CDROMs. For over 10 years Chris worked at BMG and Universal Music running their official artist sites and corporate web presence. He has built enhanced cds, dvds, tv spots and artist interviews. He has worked on numerous websites for a multitude of artists including the Spinnerette, Thornley, Crash Test Dummies, The Tragically Hip, Jully Black, Hedley, and Jacksoul. He specializes in clean, modern design with a bit of edge. Behind the scenes sites are managed with open source content management systems that allow client friendly updates using web 2.0 technologies and clean code. Current clients include labels, lifestyle management companies, artist management companies and talent management companies.